Idolator

No one here at Idolator claims to be a genius; heck, we're not even sure how to pronounce the name of our own damn site (which, by the way, we wanted to name enya-thusiast.org). But in an effort to share whatever trifling amount of online-music knowledge we have acquired, we're happy to announce Idolator's Instantly Outdated Guide to Internet Music. As its easy-to-remember acronym implies, IIOGTIM is an ever-expanding list of sites, tools, and sites that are run by tools.

After the jump, our first installment: a look at the audio blog aggregator known as The Hype Machine.

Name: The Hype Machine
Address: hype.non-standard.net
High-faultin' description: "Audio Blog Aggregator"
Actual Purpose: Scamming the latest hot MP3s

Along with Elbo.ws, the Hype Machine is probably the best place to gauge which artists and tracks are being zipped around the crowded music blogosphere; it's also the best place to download said tracks for yourself, even if it's all legally kinda iffy. The Machine scans hundreds of music sites, looking for newly posted mp3s to add to the lengthy list on the site's front page. Since music bloggers lean toward indie-rock, their "most popular" chart is often heavy on TV on the Radio and Sufjan Stevens — big-name artists like Beyonce and Justin Timberlake pop up, too, but their labels usually make sure the tracks are swiftly yanked.

How To Use It
Tracks can be found by simply browsing through the site's charts and lists, or by using its fairly reliable search engine:

Once you find a track you want to hear, the Machine provides a bunch of listening options; you can go straight to the post itself, listen via any number of players, or go and buy it at iTunes (ha!).

If you wind up with a whole page full of songs that you want to grab, we suggest clicking "podcast." This will let you dump the song titles right into iTunes, and you can then "subscribe" to whichever ones you want. And so this...

...becomes this:

Now for the bad news: Because MP3s are sometimes hosted for just a few days, tracks that are listed on the Hype Machine might have already been pulled down, meaning you may have to jump from site to site to find a still-working copy of the newest Killers song. But between Hype Machine and Elbo.ws (which also gives you a snippet of the post), most songs are out there somewhere— and you can find out about music blogs who may have the same obsession with their cassingle collection that you have with yours. Besides, it's free music! Stop complaining, you ungrateful little klepto!